rok

The Nendo Island Space Center has been completed. The new Nikola Tesla Space Center is the Antarctic Federation's first and currently only space center. While it is not as large as initially planned, the center will prove to be adequate for our nation. The smaller size is due to Nendo's topography being mountainous and suitable building areas being only around the rim. The flora and fauna are also irreplaceable and destroying them for a launch facility was not in our best interests. Facilities are located around the island and are connected by roadways. The integrated military base is located on the Eastern edge of the island and the city is to the west. The city is our nation's first official port city. and should boost trade, especially in Asia. The facility will conduct operations for any nations willing to pay for its services.

The South Pole and Berkner Island are now fully integrated into Antarctica. http://forums.cybernations.net/index.php?/topic/123485-antarctic-newswire/#3306815

Classified Transmission to Tikal We would be willing to send military advisors to aid Tikal in Greenland. Our men are the best of the best when it comes to Arctic warfare and could certainly help your forces in the environment. Should you need additional aid, we would be willing to send units from our Tactical Strike Force to work in ground combat missions and special operations against the Saxon military, and other forces who may come to their aid.

Berkner Island's city was now ready for use. The government was in place and the State of Berkner was under the oversight of the city of Zenith. Civilians were moving into the city and Guard's Brigade troops were replacing the Reconnaissance Battalion. Berkner would be on the forefront of foreign arrivals into the nation and would soon make a great tourist attraction. [7/7 Berkner Island] The South Pole was now fully integrated into the nation. The surrounding region was Antarctic controlled now and ready for continuous use. The underground research complex was nearing basic completion and expansion would over time. The McMurdo-South Pole highway would be ready for use once the Cascadians would be contacted. [7/7 South Pole] ----- The largest military base in the nation is now complete. The new Fort Ridge will service all branches of the military and spans much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet where larger cities would otherwise be unstable. Troops are being moved to the base and will be the headquarters for the Tactical Strike Force. Classified Military Document The new Fort Ridge will service all military forces in the nation. Along with standard base facilities. The Fort includes the largest SIGINT facility in the Western hemisphere. Modeled after the former Five Eyes' ECHELON program, the new installation is codenamed ECHELON Frostbite. Paired with the South Pole's new radar array, the facility should be able to effectively gather intelligence throughout the continent and Southern Hemisphere. Electronic Warfare facilities will also be headquartered at the base and provide effective troop support through the continent. Once planes are produced for Electronic Warfare, our nation should be one of the leading powers in Intelligence and EW. ---- The space center on Nendo Island is nearing completion. The facility should be ready for its first launch in the coming months. The Antarctic Space and Extraterrestrial Agency is currently constructing a satellite to be launched at the station. The rockets used for launch will be based on former NASA designs.

Sounds like a World War III (or whichever it is since it sounds like you have had a lot). I'd wait and see how everything plays out but it could be interesting.

Unless I decide to step in, but I don't like protectorates.

The Berkner Island city was almost ready for civilian habitation. Buildings were completed with geothermal technologies that were now the sole properties the Antarctic government and the HotBox heating company, after the fall of Baffin. The first citizens would be selected to arrive and a government group would be arriving within hours, with the new governor, Martin Crest. [6/7 Berkner] As part of the renovation efforts, the South Pole Station had a new Satellite Array. The Polar Scanner Array would host a large series of astronomical telescopes as well as communications. The array would give a major boost to Antarctic Communications systems and much more detailed astronomical observations. The array will provide the boost to all citizens. Foreign inhabitants of Antarctica would pay a fee for array use. [6/7 South Pole]

While the Antarctic Federation agrees with this treaty in banning the use of nuclear weapons on Earth and biological weapons, we will not sign. Our officers will do whatever necessary to defend our nation should it ever be threatened, even if deemed immoral by the rest of the world. Should adjustments to the treaty be made, we would reconsider signing.

The teams exploring and surveying the island had just returned to the site of the new city. Their data would be uploaded to the government databases. Citizens may access the data after annexation is complete. The rest of the battalion would serve as security until annexation is complete and Guards' Brigade arrive. [5/7 Berkner Island] More supplies and scientists were arriving at the Amundsen-Scott Station. The main runway's hangar area was complete, but a majority of the planes were the Buffalo cargo planes used by the military. The second major means of transportation was the McMurdo-South Pole highway. Maintenance would need to be restarted to make it traversable again. The Cascadians are currently repurposing McMurdo and maybe this would be a well used route between them and us. [5/7 South Pole]

Bile takes the glass and begins to down the Death Vodka. "Whoa.... You guys need to try this stuff. It's like having a sixth sense, except I have no idea what it is. Here, have some more ice and see for yourselves."

The Head Director responded to the governor "Miles Kane, Director of the Antarctic FES. Nice to meet you, even though the reason is to avoid an international incident. Despite the situation, we'd much rather walk out of here friends than enemies. Now regarding the situation, we would like to know what such a large force of Plains Federation troops are doing here in the South Orkney islands, and so close to Antarctica, if you don't mind us asking. We were particularly surprised by the presence of a military force in what was presumed to be unoccupied territory, or else we wouldn't have sent a force of our own up here."

Bile approaches Mr. Tidyov and Mr. Twain. "How about some Ice to go with your Death Vodka? Straight from Antarctica; I shoveled it up myself."

The teams exploring the island discovered that the north was increasingly unstable. While ice wasn't breaking rapidly, there was a large chance of it happening. The old Argentine Belgrano III Base that was built on the island was entirely buried under snow and ice. Uncovering it would not be worth the small amount of gear that would be salvaged. [4/7 Berkner Island] The South Pole station's interior renovations were nearly complete. Communications were installed and just needed to be connected to the Antarctic network. The Barracks would still need some time to be built. However, due to the constantly rising snow and Ice levels, a facility under the frost would be developed alongside the above ground buildings. It would still require annual renovations, but it would be cheaper and a whole lot more space efficient allowing a facility be buried under the snow except for the exits. [4/7 South Pole]

The Antarctic Federation recognizes Sparta. Hopefully our two nations have a prosperous future.

Overhead a small cargo plane was flying over the resort. The back hatch opened a man jumped out. Freefalling for a few seconds, he opened a brightly colored parachute and landed through a large hole in the ceiling. The man was Antarctica's Joe Bile. "I brought ice for the drinks!"

OOC: Starting where we left off at South Orkney Islands IC: The diplomats from Antarctica, having just recently arrived, were staying in a small conference room in one of the buildings waiting for a Plains Federation ambassador to arrive to begin talks. The room was quiet while the team was patiently waiting. Not much later the sound of footsteps bean to grow louder when Governor Sparks entered the room.

OOC: I'll start up the diplomacy thread. ----- The Berkner Engineers had finished the construction of a small landing strip. The strip would allow cargo planes to fly into the area more rapidly and provide civilian contractors and more supplies. The first such flight would be coming in under 12 hours. The Engineers were currently devoted to building a Research station's basic facilities. The contractors would be split between creating buildings for the future city and facilities for a large airport, which would be used by a majority of visitors to nation. [3/7] While snow had been accumulating at the base, the station's design allowed most of it to be blown away. The jack wouldn't need to be used for a while. The IceCube neutrino telescope was remarkably still operational. The snow would be uncovered to save the world's largest neutrino telescope from simply being buried and forgotten. The station would be largely unaltered from its previous state under US care. Expansion would be adding a similarly designed building to act as a barracks for troops to stay. Communications would also need to be upgraded to standard issue. [3/7]

"Copy, Captain. A group of 150 men will be landing at the in Seahawk and Osprey helicopters. The rest of the aircraft will be returning to the Antarctic Peninsula. Another White Hawk aircraft will be coming in approximately 12 hours from now carrying a team of diplomats, including the Head Director of the Antarctic Federal Enforcement Services. Over." After the communications several platoons were being readied for the change in mission. Six helicopters landed at Orcadas Base and followed strict procedure. This was definitely not what they were expecting. The only living things they thought they'd be seeing were the plants and the birds that needed the security of these islands. Looks like the Plains Federation beat us to here and had very similar plans. Antarctica may not be seeing it's first major port for a long time.

The Berkner Island expedition was able to reach their destination within a day. Their landing site at the southern coast of the island proved relatively stable. The team would clear the area of snow in order to make a small airstrip to allow the cargo planes to provide essential materials for construction. The temporary shelters were already built and would be converted into a Guard Brigade barracks for the city to be built as annexation nears completion. Once a construction team arrives, Alpha Company will guard the Engineers and the rest will fan out with the rest of the scientists to survey the island. [2/7] The South Pole was almost absolutely dark but this didn't pose much of a problem. After the planes landed, the facility was inspected for stability. The station was remarkably intact with barely any damage to the structures. While some snow would have to be cleared, that was about the only repair task. The structure's importance to the former USA must be the reason behind it's sturdiness. Even the ceremonial area nearby showed little deterioration and all of the old flags from the Antarctic Treaty System signatories still stood. Scientists were eager to use the station nearly immediately to get as much research done while astronomical observation conditions were still optimal. [2/7].

OOC: I didn't see it in marked in the Plains Federation color in the World Map or listed as a protectorate so I thought it was fair game. Since everything in your thread was listed as Classified regarding the islands, I'll use that so we can get diplomacy out of the situation. I Aboard one of the Buffalo aircraft, the plane received a transmission over a public frequency. This was odd as the Battalion wasn't expecting to find civilians on the islands. When they heard the transmission to identify was from a military naval vessel, then things were getting heated. First Lieutenant Ron Wolf responded "This is First Lieutenant Ron Wolf of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion; Antarctic Federation. On a mission to the South Orkney Islands, which were assumed unoccupied. We do not wish to engage and request permission to land at Orcadas to negotiate.. Over" ----- It was a surprise finding the Plains Federation on the Islands. The islands were presumed to be empty but it looks like there's a new Forward Operating Base on Laurie. The whole mission's probably going to be waste now. Due to the situation, Lieutenant Wolf contacted Command to inform them of the situation. "Command this is Lieutenant Wolf. The South Orkney Islands are occupied by the Plains Federation. Orcadas Base is a Plains Federation facility. The PFS Amarillo has requested we identify ourselves. We've requested permission to land and are waiting for a reply. We need somebody down here if we're going to negotiate with the Federation."

With the entirety of West Antarctica's 'permanent' ice sheets under Federation control, there wasn't much to work with. The region was more temperate than the East of the continent, due to polar vortex and ozone depletion. The region was also less stable, with more ice over water than land. Building a thriving country wasn't very doable. Six cities on this huge mass of ice that we've just secured isn't much. The Federation will need more land if we're to be more than a footnote on the world stage. The South Orkney Islands currently being secured will only give us benefit on the sea, and not much else the rest of the world would care too much about. The only other way is to travel east to get more essential space. The South Pole; we're heading past the Transantarctic Mountains to Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station at the end of the Western hemisphere. The former US base has been abandoned and is a vital asset that needs to be secured. The 4th Scout Battalion will be heading to the base to bring it back online. The South Pole's currently in it's winter and it will be nearly pitch black until the September Equinox. All units will have standard issue night and thermal vision. [1/7 South Pole] Another team, the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, would be heading toward Berkner Island in the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. Being a popular landing site for Antarctic Expeditions, the area needs proper regulations to ensure that the island remain secure and stable for arriving parties. A city and research base would be established to represent Antarctic control. [1/7 Berkner Island]

Military and government construction crews have arrived at Nendo to begin building the new space center. The Japanese and civilian contractors will be arriving soon. Another team of scientists and Enforcers' Guard Brigade troops have arrived at Byrd Station to repurpose the station, as was done with the WAIS Divide. Suitability for construction of a city will be determined later. ------ The long abandoned South Orkney Islands will now be the destination for the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. The small group of Islands is the closest unoccupied cluster of islands to the Antarctic Peninsula. It containing two research stations and it's easily accessible location would make a great location for a port, boosting trade greatly, as our nation currently only trades by cargo planes. Both research stations will be reactivated with annexation. The entire region is set to be annexed soon. [1/7]

The Antarctic welcomes a new Ukrainian government. When your nation is ready for foreign affairs, feel free to contact us.

After talks with the Imperium of Japan, we have managed to buy the island of Nendo in the Santa Cruz Islands. The island will be home to the Antarctic's first Space center. Government construction teams as well as civilian contractors are being sent to Nendo to create the space center. The current airport in the area will be the center of the integrated military base.

The Antarctic Federation welcomes the new CSA. We won't argue with ethics so long as the people of your nation as a whole are pleased with their nation. We look forward to mutual friendship and trade with your new nation.